Greetings, my name is David and I welcome you to my family story. A story which I’ve been researching for over forty years. Please enjoy the website and I hope you are able to find some information that will assist you in your researches.

NOTE:Although the content of this website is focused mainly on my ancestors, it is only the “tip of the iceberg” of the information that I have on hand. If you have a particular inquiry then please send me an eMail via Lyon Family History at 8020663 dot ca.

1486 – Henry VII (Tudor) married Elizabeth of York uniting houses of York and Lancaster.

1487 – Battle of Stoke Field: In final engagement of the Wars of the Roses, Henry VII, defeats Yorkist army “led” by Lambert Simnel (who was impersonating Edward, the nephew of Edward IV, the only plausible royal alternative to Henry, who was confined in the Tower of London).

1513 – Battle of Flodden Field (fought at Flodden Edge, Northumberland) in which invading Scots are defeated by the English under their commander, 70 year old Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey; James IV of Scotland is killed.

1515 – Thomas Wolsey, Archbisop of York, is made Lord Chancellor of England and Cardinal

1517 – The Protestant Reformation begins; Martin Luther nails his “95 Theses” against the Catholic practice of selling indulgences, on the church door at Wittenberg

1520 – Field of Cloth of Gold: Francois I of France meets Henry VIII but fails to gain his support against Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V

1521 – Henry VIII receives the title “Defender of the Faith” from Pope Leo X for his opposition to Luther

1529 – Henry VIII dismisses Lord Chancellor Thomas Wolsey for failing to obtain the Pope’s consent to his divorce from Catherine of Aragon; Sir Thomas More appointed Lord Chancellor; Henry VIII summons the “Reformation Parliament” and begins to cut the ties with the Church of Rome

1530 – Thomas Wolsey dies

1532 – Sir Thomas More resigns over the question of Henry VIII’s divorce

1628 – Petition of Right; Charles I forced to accept Parliament’s statement of civil rights in return for finances

1629 – Charles I dissolves Parliament and rules personally until 1640

1630 – England makes peace with France and Spain

1639 – First Bishops’ War between Charles I and the Scottish Church; ends with Pacification of Dunse

1640 – Charles I summons the “Short ” Parliament ; dissolved for refusal to grant money; Second Bishops’ War; ends with Treaty of Ripon; The Long Parliament begins.

1641 – Triennial Act requires Parliament to be summoned every three years; Star Chamber and High Commission abolished by Parliament; Catholics in Ireland revolt; some 30,000 Protestants massacred; Grand Remonstrance of Parliament to Charles I

1642 – Charles I fails in attempt to arrest five members of Parliament and rejects Parliament’s Nineteen Propositions; Civil War (until 1645) begins with battle of Edgehill between Cavaliers (Royalists) and Roundheads (Parliamentarians)

1679 – Act of Habeas Corpus passed, forbidding imprisonment without trial; Parliament’s Bill of Exclusion against the Roman Catholic Duke of York blocked by Charles II; Parliament dismissed; Charles II rejects petitions calling for a new Parliament; petitioners become known as Whigs; their opponents (royalists) known as Tories

1685 – James II of England and VII of Scotland (to 1688); rebellion by Charles II’s illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, against James II is put down

1686 – James II disregards Test Act; Roman Catholics appointed to public office

1687 – James II issues Declaration of Liberty of Conscience, extends toleration to all religions

1688 – England’s ‘Glorious Revolution’; William III of Orange is invited to save England from Roman Catholicism, lands in England, James II flees to France

1689 – Convention Parliament issues Bill of Rights; establishes a constitutional monarchy in Britain; bars Roman Catholics from the throne; William III and Mary II become joint monarchs of England and Scotland (to1694), Toleration Act grants freedom of worship to dissenters in England; Grand Alliance of the League of Augsburg, England, and the Netherlands.

1066 – Harold II is crowned king the day after Edward the Confessor dies. Tostig and Harold Hardraada of Norway invade England: Harold defeats them at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, killing both; Battle of Hastings: 19 days after battle of Stamford Bridge, William of Normandy lands at Pevensey, defeats and kills Harold; William I, the Conqueror, first Norman King of England (to 1087)

1067 – Work is begun on building the Tower of London.

1068 – The Norman Conquest continues until 1069: William subdues the north of England (the “Harrying of the North” ): the region is laid waste

1070 – Hereward the Wake begins a Saxon revolt in the Fens of eastern England; Lanfranc, an Italian lawyer, becomes William’s formidable Archbishop of Canterbury. Lanfranc rebuilds Canterbury Cathedral and establishes the primacy of the see of Canterbury over York, but does not enforce clerical celibacy.

1072 – William invades Scotland, and also receives the submission of Hereward
the Wake.

1080 – William, in a letter, reminds the bishop of Rome that the King of England owes him no allegiance.

1086 – Domesday Book is completed in England

1087 – William II, Rufus, King of England (to 1100); his elder brother, Robert, is Duke of Normandy

1093 – Donald Bane, King of Scots (to 1097), following the death of his brother, Malcolm III, in battle against the English1097 – Edgar, second son of Malcolm Canmore, King of Scotland (to 1107); he defeats Donald Bane with the assistance of William II of England

1099 – Crusaders capture Jerusalem; Godfrey of Bouillon is elected King of Jerusalem

1100 – Henry I, youngest son of William the Conqueror, King of England (to 1135), following assassination of William Rufus

1106 – Henry I defeats his brother Rober, Duke of Normandy, at battle of Tinchebrai: Robert remains captive for life

1113 – Founding of the Order of St. John is formally acknowledged by the papacy

1141 – Matilda captures Stephen at the battle of Lincoln, and reigns disastrously as queen; she is driven out by a popular rising and Stephen restored

1148 – Matilda leaves England for the last time

1152 – Marriage of Louis VII of France and Eleanor of Aquitaine is annulled on grounds of blood relationship; Eleanor marries Henry of Anjou, allying Aquitaine to his lands of Anjou and Normandy, two months after her divorce

1153 – Henry of Anjou, son of Matilda, invades England and forces Stephen to make him heir to the English throne

1154 – Henry II, King of England (to 1189); he also rules more than half of France; Pope Adrian IV (to 1159) (Nicholas Breakspear, the only English pope)

1372 – French troops recapture Poitou and Brittany; Naval battle of La Rochelle: French regain control of English Channel

1373 – John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, son of Edward III, leads new English invasion of France

1374 – John of Gaunt returns to England and takes charge of the government; Edward III in his dotage, the Black Prince is ill

1375 – Truce of Bruges ends hostilities between England and France

1376 – The Good Parliament in England, called by Edward the Black Prince, introduces many reforms of government; Death of Edward the Black Prince, aged 45; The Civil Dominion of John Wyclif, an Oxford don, calling for Church reforms

1377 – Richard II, son of the Black Prince, King of England (to 1399)

1381 – Peasants’ Revolt in England; John Wyclif, an Oxford theologian, publishes his “Confession”, denying that the “substance” of bread and wine are miraculously changed during the Eucharist.

1382 – John Wyclif is expelled from Oxford because of his opposition to certain Church doctrines

1386 – John of Gaunt leads an expedition to Castile, which he claims in his wife’s name; fails 1388

1399 – Death of John of Gaunt; Gaunt’s eldest son, Henry of Bolingbroke, lands in Yorkshire with 40 followers, and soon has 60,000 supporters: Richard II is deposed; Bolingbroke becomes Henry IV, King of England (to 1413)

1422 – Deaths of Henry V of England and Charles VI of France; Henry VI, King of England (to 1461)

1424 – John, Duke of Bedford, regent for Henry VI of England, defeats the French at Cravant

1428 – Henry VI begins siege of Orleans

1429 – A French force, led by military commander Joan of Arc (Jeanne d’Arc), relieves the siege of Orleans; Charles VII crowned king of France at Rheims

1430 – Burgundians capture Jeanne d’Arc and hand her over to the English

1431 – Jeanne d’Arc burned as a witch at Rouen; Henry VI of England crowned king of France in Paris

1453 – Bordeaux falls to the French, Hundred Years’ War ends; England’s only French possession is Calais; In England, Henry VI becomes insane

1454 – Richard, Duke of York, is regent of England while Henry VI is insane; Printing with movable type is perfected in Germany by Johannes Gutenberg

1455 – Henry VI recovers. Richard of York is replaced by Somerset and excluded from the Royal Council; War of the Roses – civil wars in England between royal houses of York and Lancaster (until 1485); Battle of St. Albans. Somerset defeated and killed

1460 – Battle of Wakefield. Richard of York is defeated and killed; Earl of Warwick (the Kingmaker) captures London for the Yorkists; Battle of Northampton: Henry VI is captured by Yorkists

1483 – Death of Edward IV; Edward V, King of England; he is deposed by his uncle, Richard Duke of Gloucester; Richard III, King of England (to 1485); Edward V and his brother are murdered in the Tower of London

1485 – Battle of Bosworth Field: Henry Tudor, with men, money and arms provided by Charles VIII of France, defeats and kills Richard III in the decisive (but not final) battle of the Wars of the Roses.

Josh joins me in offering our condolences to you ,Stephen, Jimmy and Linda on your Mom’s death.She was one of the most warm,loving and kind people that I have ever known.I first met Barb in Quebec City before she and Don were married.Don was working at Champlain News and Barb would come down to visit.Then there were many fun family gatherings at the farm of course, the most memorable of which was the 1967 Centennial party.

Sunday’s gathering was so special and Barb would have been so happy to have been part of it.It was great to see our two cousins Bill and Joan and then all the various spouses/partners and second cousins. We are a large clan with very interesting families. Let’s hope we can keep in touch!

David would you please forward this message to Stephen, Jimmy and Linda. I don’t have their emails. I have sent a donation to the Wales Foundation in Barb’s memory.

My love to all,

Pat

PS I will be in touch later when I have had a chance to digest all the “family” tree.